The Steelers once thought of wide receivers as a dime a dozen and their actions proved that. Rarely since the days of Lynn Swann and John Stallworth did any receiver not named Hines Ward stick around beyond his rookie contract.
That changed in an historic way Monday when they signed Antonio Brown to a five-year, $72.71 million contract that makes him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history. The contract includes a $19 million signing bonus.
To make the day even more memorable, they issued Le’Veon Bell the one-year exclusive franchise tag, which will make him their highest-paid running back ever at a salary that has been estimated to be slightly more than $12 million, depending on the determination of this year’s salary cap. It keeps him off the free agent market for at least one more year.
The two rate among the best — if not the best — players in the NFL at their positions.
So the Steelers’ Big Three of Brown ($14.5 million per year), Bell ($12 million) and Ben Roethlisbeger ($20 million) will average $46.5 million per year on their various deals. It represents a commitment by the Steelers to stick with their star power on offense as they try to bring home a seventh Lombardi Trophy.
That effort fell short last season when they lost at New England in the AFC championship game 36-17.
By signing Brown and committing to Bell in a big way, the Steelers not only must be convinced that those two can help them get to their first Super Bowl in seven seasons but that they have few qualms about their various indiscretions.
Brown’s came in the form of pouting when not getting the ball enough to several on-field celebration penalties. Those were topped off by his Facebook Live video from the locker room after their playoff victory in Kansas City — while Mike Tomlin was speaking to his team and calling the Patriots a derogatory expletive. Tomlin was livid when he found out about it.
Bell’s were more serious — resulting in suspensions of three games to start each of the past two seasons for failing drug tests. He also has yet to get through any of his four seasons without injury, and ended each of the past three with injuries that kept him out of the playoffs two seasons and knocked him out of most of the AFC title game in January.
But both president Art Rooney II and general manager Kevin Colbert expressed little concern about those incidents in recent interviews.
“Unfortunately, running backs get injured a little more than other positions due to the nature of the position,” Colbert said. “We have no reservations about Le’Veon. Not his durability or his ability. He’s grown, I think, tremendously off the field. And I think, I hope, he continues to grow in those areas. But there’s no hesitation to having him be with us, hopefully, for his whole career.”
Said Rooney, “I wouldn’t say that we have a big concern about Le’Veon’s physical abilities or stability. He is a strong, young player. I think he will keep getting better.”
Brown, who turns 29 on July 10, has been assaulting Steelers and NFL records for several years. He became the first NFL player to lead his conference in receptions in four straight years, in the process tying Marvin Harrison as the only players in history with 100 receptions in four straight years.
Steelers for life #Boomin pic.twitter.com/LYcCi4fW8U
— Antonio Brown (@AntonioBrown) February 27, 2017
Bell, who turned 25 this month, rushed for 1,268 yards (4.9 average) and caught 75 passes for another 616 yards last season. He became the only player in NFL history to average 100 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards per game in the 2016 season.
Despite all that, the Steelers came up short of their goal again to reach the Super Bowl after a weak performance on both offense and defense in the AFC championship game in New England.
Part of their problem in 2016 was the lack of production at receiver after Brown. Injuries hurt them there, but they have no one right now they can count on filling those roles next season.
Bell carried the team in their first two playoff games last season but his groin injury early in the AFC championship game left them without a reliable ground attack against the Patriots.
The rest of their team will stay relatively intact, with a few contract decisions still ahead. They enter this year with more available salary cap room than they’ve had in quite some time, approaching an estimated $35 million.
They used a lot of that on Monday to sign Brown and Bell. The Steelers also sent a message that keeping the Big Three together is the best way to pursue their seventh Lombardi Trophy.
First Published: February 28, 2017, 12:59 a.m.
